Science Memes

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I definitely never unsubscribed from a YouTube channel just for that... (files.catbox.moe)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Theory meaning "unproven assumption" is one of the definitions in Merriam-Webster so it is not a new definition.

You're just angry word means something you don't want it to mean. Just like the literally-figuratively crowd.

[–] rtxn 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

If you consider gross misuse (i.e. mixing up "theory" and "hypothesis") to be a valid form of etymology (e.g. making new words), I have a question to axe.

(I apologize to linguists' families who now have to clean up bodily fluids and/or arrange a funeral.)

[–] Jiggle_Physics 3 points 4 months ago

The aks variant pronunciation of ask is fine. It is part of a dialect.

[–] kaffiene 1 points 4 months ago

It's not gross misuse, it's how the word work in common use.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

To be perfectly fair, you can't "prove" or "disprove" a theory. You can only discover new evidence that supports the theory or another competing theory. Multiple competing theories can be equally accepted as correct.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

The issue is people using exactly that definition to reject science. We also have a theory of gravity, but gravity itself is an observation. Evolution should be too, regardless of our theories about it.

Also, String Theory isn't doing anyone any favors.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I think anyone who uses the word "literally" to mean anything other than "in a literal sense" is a moron who never actually thinks about what the words coming out of their mouth mean, and I always will.

[–] Jiggle_Physics 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

People who do not seem to understand that language is different than they wish it to be, are the actual morons. Not only morons, but pampas morons. Language is messy, imprecise, and always in flux. Language is a construct of the collective of its speakers, not you alone, nor anyone else. This is why we have specific lexicons for various industries, and academic fields. Even those are constantly being updated, and revised.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Language is [...] always in flux

And, more importantly, I will use language as I please; I don't have to justify my use of words to anyone. That is why I don't see why people complain about using words "the wrong way". Even if it is, I will still insist on my right to produce whatever gibberish my mouth is willing to put forward.

Edit: In other words, right to be wrong.

[–] Jiggle_Physics 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, as long as everyone involved understands what is being said I am fine with it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

In fact, not even everybody has to understand it. If I say something that I think is true, but in a language that only I can speak, then it would be okay for me to say it anyways, even if nobody understands it. That is because while it's important to always speak the truth, it's not always important to be understood by others.

[–] kaffiene 1 points 4 months ago

The use of literal to mean figurative has been common for hundreds of years (literally). If it's good enough for James Joyce, it's good enough for you